A distributed computing system is employed in a variety of settings for running applications and maintaining data. For example, an application traditionally stored and maintained on a personal computer for performing one or more desired functions, may, when executed in a distributed computing system, provide similar functionality without the need for local resources, maintenance, and other burdens associated with individual copies of an application residing at a personal computer.
An application that is accessible through a distributed computing system (environment) may include features particular to a specific group of users. These features that are particular to a specific group of users inhibit traditional automation of an update to components utilized by the application. Traditionally, when a distributed computing system application is updated, the process is laborious and results in manual intervention to re-instate many of the features unique to the application prior to the update. Consequently, a user, such as a developer of the application, initiates the update process to re-deploy the features and customization that was present prior to updating of a component within the application.
Further, a user initiating the update of a component used by an application is traditionally required to have knowledge that the component is used by a particular application and that an update for the component is present. As a result, updating of a component across a distributed computing environment is hindered by the lack of centralization and automation for updating components system wide.
As such, current processes for updating components of applications, which rely on users manually identifying an update is available and rebuilding an application, are ad hoc solutions, are labor intensive, and are error prone. Further, these solutions are not scalable for applying across a distributed computing environment providing a plurality of applications with multiple components utilized therein and identifying an update is available.